Emerald Casino drops fight against state to win gambling license for Rosemont venue

January 01, 2008|By Richard Wronski, Tribune staff reporter

A controversial company whose license to open a casino in Rosemont was revoked over allegations of mob ties has ended its long legal struggle to regain the license, its attorney said Monday.

Emerald Casino decided to drop the legal battle it has been waging for years against the Illinois Gaming Board for the right to operate in Rosemont, attorney Robert Clifford said.

The decision comes just a month after the Illinois Supreme Court declined to review an Appellate Court ruling that upheld the Gaming Board's decision to revoke Emerald's license. The board found in 2005 that Emerald officials lied to state investigators and sold shares to two investors with alleged ties to organized crime.

Emerald still had some legal options available, Clifford said, but decided that "the better strategy, the best decision, is to stand down and allow the Gaming Board to finally do what it has refused to do for years: get the license up and running for the state of Illinois."

The Gaming Board is moving ahead with plans to hire an investment banking firm to put the long-dormant casino license out for bid early this year, spokesman Gene O'Shea said Monday. The license also could figure into discussions in Springfield about a major gambling expansion that includes the prospect of a Chicago casino.

Emerald and the state have battled over the license since 2001. Gaming Board Chairman Aaron Jaffe said last month the inactive license has cost the state $1 billion in lost revenue.

Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan, whose office represented the Gaming Board, called Emerald's decision "an important victory for the people of Illinois in our long legal fight for integrity and accountability in the state's gambling industry."

In the past, communities from Waukegan to Des Plaines to Country Club Hills have vied for the coveted casino license.

The Gaming Board has the authority to award the license to a company to operate a casino anywhere except along Lake Michigan, O'Shea said.

Even Rosemont might still be in the running. The village considered its lease with Emerald void, spokesman Gary Mack said Monday, and the village might consider working with another casino operator.

Mayor Bradley Stephens in September offered to sell the state the Rosemont Theatre as the site for a state-operated casino.